Don't Forget Me_Ridgewater High

by Judy Corry

  Curse Ashlyn and her plans…and her blindfolds. This was her fault!

  The wind picked up, making it impossible to keep my head up in the torrential rain. Could this be the beginning of a hurricane? I didn’t know. I wished I’d paid more attention to this kind of stuff in the news. It seemed like Amani had said something about hurricanes coming to the island in the past. But didn’t those things happen more in the later part of summer? We always got more rain in New York at that time anyway.

  I jumped over a huge puddle. Jess was probably worried about me. It would serve him right after the way he treated me this summer. Maybe he’d finally come to his senses. That was, if he was even worried. I hoped he was. I hoped he was pacing inside the cottage, wondering if I was ever going to make it back from this crazy storm.

  The sun had all but disappeared, and I was about ready to find some sort of cave to hide in when I saw a long driveway. I squinted my eyes in the rain to see if the cottage was down there. It was! The cottage! That glorious cottage had light. Warmth. A shower. And most importantly, pizza!

  I quickened my pace, not caring about splashing in the puddles anymore—it’s not like it mattered since I was already sopping wet. I jumped onto the porch, only stopping for a moment to wring out my wet clothes and hair. Then I thought about the pristine interior of Jess's grandparent’s cottage, so I stripped down to my swimsuit before going inside. Hopefully, I wouldn’t scare Jess too much with my wet-dog appearance.

  But the front room was empty.

  I didn’t know why I had expected to find an anxious Jess pacing the floor, wondering where I’d been. He wasn’t in the front room or kitchen at all. The light in his room was off and the bathroom was dark as well. Had he gone to bed, already?

  So much for him worrying about my safety.

  I peeked inside his room. His duffle bag sat on top of a made bed.

  He had to have come back earlier, though, since I hadn’t left all the lights on when I went on my hike. Where could he be?

  He better be okay.

  He probably would be. He seemed like he knew what he was doing earlier on the trail. Hopefully, he’d be back soon.

  I treaded into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of leftover pizza, not taking the time to heat it up before inhaling it. I stuffed down a second piece as well, and then I took a shower to wash off all the mud from my legs.

  Once I was clean and dressed, I went back to the living room area to see if Jess had made it back.

  It was still empty.

  I peeked at the clock. Nine-thirty. Where was he?

  I hurried to the front window to see what it was like out there. I could barely see out the window, everything was so blurry with rain. The wind was blowing like crazy now, trees were bending over sideways, and there was so much water and mud.

  Where could he be? I rapped my fingers on the glass as I looked for any sign of him. Had he gone back out in search of me? Had he gotten lost? Or hurt?

  Why had I been so rude to him this morning? I should have been nice to him. It was so stupid! Would that be the last memory I had with him? I didn’t even want to think about it. I took a deep breath and told myself I was overreacting.

  Jess would be okay. He was fine. He had found some cave—a really strong hurricane-proof cave—to shelter in during this storm. He’d be back as soon as the storm stopped and we’d laugh about this experience.

  A tree fell down about twenty feet away.

  I yanked the curtains shut. I couldn’t watch. Seeing the destruction outside would only make me go crazy.

  I needed a distraction. I went to turn on the TV. Watching movies had always been a good distraction in the past. I was turning on the Blu-ray player when the lights went out.

  I screamed.

  Then I scrambled around for something, anything to give me some light. I was rummaging through all the kitchen cupboards when I remembered the lantern I’d seen in the closet earlier. I dashed toward the closet, stubbing my toe on a chair in the process, and looked for the lamp. But it was gone.

  Had Jess taken it?

  I was sitting on the couch, trying not to have a panic attack when I thought I heard a voice.

  Eliana.

  I barely heard the sound of my name over the storm.

  “Eliana.”

  It was a little louder this time.

  A dim light peeked up through the glass in the door.

  Jess.

  “JESS!”

  I bolted to the door and flung it open to find a haggard-looking Jess, soaked and muddy with the lantern in one hand, my wet shirt lifted in his other hand.

  When our eyes met, he was looking at me like I was a ghost.

  “You’re okay,” he gasped, his chest heaving with labored breaths.

  “You’re okay,” I sighed, my legs threatening to buckle under me.

  We stood there for a moment, my heart pounding as the tension evaporated from my limbs, making me even weaker. Jess was here. He was okay.

  The lantern and my shirt crashed to the ground as he covered the distance between us in two long strides. He caught me up in an embrace, walking me backward until we collided with the wall in the dark entryway.

  “Jess,” I gasped as he pinned me between him and the wall with his rain-soaked body, his hands sliding up my shoulders and into my damp hair. His hot breath was on my face for a second before his mouth crushed onto mine, hard, wet, and hungry. My knees gave out and I melted, clinging to him to stay upright. Drops of water from his hair dripped down my cheek as he coaxed my lips into a give-and-take—the perfect melding of our mouths that swirled over me like the hurricane outside. He tasted like rain, and I wanted to quench my thirst with his kisses. I wanted to kiss him and stay in his arms forever. This was what I’d been missing. This was what I’d been wanting ever since he left me. I wanted Jess. My Jess. The piece of my heart that he’d taken when he left was finally back in place, swelling my chest so big I didn’t know if my ribs could hold it in.

  “I looked everywhere for you,” he breathed against my lips. “I was so worried.”

  I smoothed a hand along his chest, feeling his heart strumming faster than a hummingbird’s wings. “I was worried about you, too,” I said before curling my fingers in his damp hair and pulling his lips back to mine. His arm slipped behind my waist, his hand flattening against the small of my back as he pulled me closer, pressing me to him. Our kisses grew deeper and deeper, as if we didn’t need air, only each other. My body ached for him. A deep, longing that made me lose all sense of everything. There was only that moment. Only Jess. Only us. I had never felt anything like it.

  And then the kiss changed—it slowed and Jess's lips were soft, so soft. His fingers traced their way up my arms, my shoulders, and along my collarbone. Heat spread through the pit of my stomach as his mouth brushed along my chin, leaving a trail of fire where it went.

  “Jess,” I whispered, knowing I was so close to jumping off the edge with him.

  When he didn’t seem to hear me, I said his name again.

  He sighed, his voice husky when he spoke, “I know.”

  He kissed my lips one more time before resting his forehead against mine so we could catch our breath. In the dark room, I could barely see his eyes, but what I could see told me he was feeling the same desire I was.

  “Sorry for being such a butt this summer,” he finally said, tucking my loose hair behind my ear. “I was just so mad that I had to escape to an island to get over you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “And it didn’t even work. The moment I saw you again I wanted you back.”

  My heart thudded in my chest. He had wanted me all along? “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I—I never should have said those things and made you leave.”

  Jess's face softened and he pressed his lips to mine in a gentle lingering kiss. “It’s okay. We’re together now. That’s all that matters.”

  “Am I going to have to tell Ryan that I stole you from him?” Jess asked as we
cuddled on the couch after he’d showered off all the mud and we’d both changed into dry clothes.

  I laughed. “I don’t think he’ll mind. Didn’t Ashlyn say he was only flirting with me because she asked him to?”

  “Yeah, my sister sure was desperate to get us back together. I guess she thinks everyone should be as happy as her and Luke.”

  “We should probably thank her.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe later. For now, we can still be mad at her for deserting us when there was a tropical storm.”

  I laughed again. “What about you? Is that girl I saw you talking to at the bonfire going to be heartbroken?”

  "Are you talking about Layla?" He chuckled. "That girl's crazy!"

  "But I thought you said she was cool." Yes, I specifically remembered him saying she was cool because she didn't play games with guys’ hearts.

  "I only said that because you and I were fighting, and I didn't want you to know about my nonexistent dating life."

  "You were embarrassed about not dating anyone?"

  "Well, after everything that happened, I didn't want you to think I was just sitting at the resort being miserable."

  "Were you?"

  "Miserable? Of course I was. I'd severed ties with my lifelong best friend." He grazed his fingertips along my back. His touch was so light, yet it burned a path into my skin everywhere it went. "Tell me you were miserable too?"

  "I was miserable."

  "Do you mean it, or are you just saying that because I told you to?” His lip quirked up into a one-sided smile as he continued to trace his fingers along my spine.

  "I've never had a longer six months of my life."

  "Even compared to last year with everything that happened with your dad?"

  I nodded. Losing my dad had been like falling into an empty well, but at least I'd had Jess there at the top to call to me and tell me everything would be okay. Losing Jess right after being humiliated by my drunk mother had been like falling into the well, and then drowning in the water.

  Ashlyn picked us up first thing the next morning. Apparently, the storm had her worried sick about us the whole night before. I considered using her guilt against her, to make her feel bad about leaving Jess and me stranded in the middle of who-knew-where. But I decided to let it go since her plan had worked. Jess and I had made up, and in a roundabout way, we had Ashlyn to thank for it.

  The next two weeks were magical. Jess took me all over the island and took care of me in a way I hadn’t been taken care of in a very long time. He was amazing, and I thanked the stars every day that I was somehow lucky enough to call him mine.

  One evening, we were settling down to watch a movie with Ashlyn and Ryan in Ashlyn's room when a quiet knock sounded on the door.

  “Did you invite your grandparents, too?” Ryan smirked at Ashlyn.

  “No.” Ashlyn unfolded her legs from the couch and walked to the door. “Though I have no idea who else would show up so late—unless Luke decided to come a week early.”

  She swung the door open then gasped.

  “What is it?” Ryan shifted in his chair as if readying to protect her from danger.

  Ashlyn slowly moved one foot back then the other to reveal who had knocked on the door.

  “Is my Eliana here?” my dad’s voice sounded.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “Dad?” My breath caught in my throat. I tried to pull myself up from the couch but my body had gone completely weak with shock. Jess gave me a push, and I stumbled toward the door. Toward my dad.

  “Papà!” I cried as I fell into him, throwing my arms around his neck.

  “My beautiful Baby Girl.” His arms shook around me as he kissed my hair, my temple, and my cheek.

  “You came back,” I said it over and over again, each time becoming less understandable until I was sobbing into his shirt. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”

  “I never wanted to leave you. I never wanted to leave my girls,” he spoke into my hair.

  I pulled back to see if he was real. I looked up into his warm brown eyes, which were wet with tears. He looked just as I remembered, the same crinkles at the corners of his eyes, the same mole on his left cheek, the same dark hair with a touch of gray in it. He even smelled the same, of aftershave and spice.

  It was then that I noticed he wasn’t by himself. My mom was standing in the doorway, her eyes full of happy tears.

  “Mom!” I opened my arms for her to join the family hug.

  She stepped into the hug and we all cried together, squeezing each other and laughing.

  It wasn’t until a full minute later that I remembered we weren’t alone.

  I turned back to my friends, wiping tears from my eyes. “My dad’s back.”

  Jess, Ashlyn, and Ryan all smiled back at me. Then Jess came to stand by us. He held a hand out for my dad to shake. “It’s so good to see you again, Mr. Costa.”

  “It’s so good to see you, too.” My dad ignored Jess's hand and pulled him into a bear hug. “Thank you for taking care of my girl.”

  “I would do anything for your daughter,” Jess said.

  Dad held him at arm’s length. “I know. You are a good man. Much better than me.”

  My friends all excused themselves from the room, giving me a chance to talk to my parents alone.

  “You’re probably wondering where I’ve been all this time.” My dad was the first one to break the silence after we all had taken a seat—me and him on the couch, my mom on the chair. “And I hope you’ll still want me to be here after I tell you. I’m already so thankful your mom decided to give me a second chance.”

  I glanced at my mom. She looked so different from how she’d been the past year. Her eyes were bright again with hope, her skin vibrant. She looked healthy, which I could only assume meant she’d kept herself sober after I left. And she was gazing at me and my father with such love that my heart almost burst with the hope that things would be good again in our family.

  Where had my dad been all this time? I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear his answer. But I needed to ask the hard questions. So I dug deep and pulled from the strength I’d felt that day at the Emerald Pool. “Where did you go? How could you leave us?”

  He exhaled deeply. “It’s a long story. And one that I’m afraid won’t make me look good in your eyes.”

  I waited. If I was going to be strong, he needed to step up as well.

  He licked his lips then swallowed. “The FBI was right. I did embezzle a lot of money from my clients.”

  He let that sink in like a sack of rocks before continuing.

  “I didn’t plan to do it, not really. But when I was chatting with a buddy of mine about how tight things had gotten in our finances, he told me about this scheme of his that promised a quick return on my investment. It was only supposed to take a few months, and I was going to pay all my clients back the money I borrowed. I convinced myself it was okay since my clients had asked me to invest their money anyway. If I tied it up for a few months longer, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to them. No one was supposed to get hurt.” He shook his head.

  “But the deal went sideways. My buddy took the money and disappeared. I tried to cover it up for a while with new clients’ money, but it wasn’t working. When I found out the FBI were looking into things at work, I panicked.”

  Despite how happy I’d been to see him a moment ago, anger still bubbled in my stomach, reminding me of everything my mom and I had gone through because of what he did. “So you figured you’d leave us to deal with the mess?”

  “I wasn’t thinking.” Dad pinched his eyes shut. “I was in Wyoming before I fully realized what I’d done. I almost turned around, but then I thought about how I was facing twenty-five years in jail. I couldn’t come back. I’d be just as bad off. I’d be in jail until I was seventy. I’d miss out on everything.”

  “So you were the only person who mattered? Who cares about Mom and me, and how we got stuck facing the news media, the nei
ghbors, the FBI, and all the rumors at school? We had to move in with Uncle Peter because we couldn’t afford to live anywhere.”

  “Eliana!” My mom tried to hush me.

  Maybe that Emerald Pool had made me a little too strong.

  “No, Annette. She’s right.” My dad shook his head, and I noticed he was fighting back tears. “I’m a horrible father. A horrible husband. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I-I just wanted to see you one last time before I turn myself in.”

  My heart stuttered to a stop as his words registered in my head. “T-turn yourself in?”

  He pressed his lips together. “I found out you were here and decided it was probably the only chance I’d have to talk to you without the police or anyone else getting involved. So I sent another letter to your mother a couple of weeks ago, asking her to meet me here. Then I, uh, I had an alternate passport made up so I could get here without flagging anything.”

  “You got a fake passport. You might as well say it.” I gave him a half smile so he knew I was teasing.

  “Yes, we may as well add forgery to my list of felonies.”

  My mom snorted. And I had to laugh too. It was the only thing we could do in this situation if we were going to keep from crying.

  “Anyway, I was so thankful when your mom showed up this afternoon. We talked about everything…” he trailed off. His eyes peered into mine, communicating that he knew about everything that had gone on while he was away. He squeezed my knee. “You are such a strong girl, Eliana. I’m so sorry for what we put you through. It’s more than anyone should have to deal with, let alone you, my beautiful tesorina.”

  My lip trembled as my emotions tried to get the better of me. I wiped my shaky fingers under my eyes as the tears trickled over the brim.

  My dad pulled me into a hug and kissed my hair. “I’m so sorry.” He rubbed my back. “You deserve so much better.”